Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Ms Pea had some rashes on her tail and that was what she was moaning about all night. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. Laugh probably.

Her tail is still limp and hanging down. It's obviously sore and she's not using it. It's swollen near the base and there are some red bumps and lesions in the area with a bit of pus. It's called pyoderma or "pus in the skin". That sounds horrid but Georgia's looks to be just an extremely mild infection.

In fact, you can hardly see the bumps at all in this picture. What a cry baby!

This picture below, from the Merck Veterinary Manual link above, is [incredibly] labelled as superficial pyoderma.I hate to think of what deep pyoderma looks like. Here's a description though -

"The hallmarks of deep pyoderma in dogs are pain, crusting, odor, and exudation of blood and pus. Erythema, swelling, ulcerations, hemorrhagic crusts and bullae, hair loss, and draining tracts with serohemorrhagic or purulent exudate may also be seen."

Good god. I'm very glad that's not what Georgia has!

She's now on anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and has been snoring away all afternoon. I'll also be continuing with her medicated baths this week, with special attention to her tail. She's going to be one unhappy puppy.

While at the vet's...

"I've put on 3 kilos?!!"

"Please PLEASE don't make me go on another diet. I'm sick."

"See? I just lost 20 kilos by putting my paws on the floor."

Thank you to everyone who followed our little story last night as it unfolded. I was very glad for your company!

When your dog gets sick in the middle of the night [not sick enough for an emergency dash, but sick enough to keep you awake] and you have no medical degrees hanging on your wall, you start to google for possibilities and answers.

Here's a condition I found which exactly described the way Georgia's tail was looking. It's called many things including cold tail or limber tail, and might be of interest to those of you who live in Very Cold Places and whose dogs like to go swimming in icy ponds. [You know who you are!]

Interestingly, although it's supposed to be a fairly obscure condition, our vet knew what it was and brought it up himself when he saw Georgia's tail. He'd apparently come across some cases while he was working in the UK.

There you go. Live and learn.

I'm looking forward to a nice peaceful night tonight. I hope you and your pups have one too :) x

40 comments:

We are so glad you are okay! What an odyssey. Live and learn, yes, but what stress. Your Typist loves you very much and takes such good care of you. And you have a great vet. Rest and rejuvenate this week. We'll be thinking of you and your tail.

Aha, so GLP is a bit of a drama queen. My human child was like that when she was young - a little owie warranted a huge song and dance full of moans and groans and "I'm dying" vocalizations. Suck it up, Princess, you'll survive!

GLP's typist- I hope you catch up on your lost sleep. I'm so glad this turned out to be minor.

Unfortunately, the vet couldn't say how it started. He originally thought she'd been bitten by some bug. Georgia does have chronic skin issues, both contact and atopic dermatitis. We're always on the lookout for lumpy skin and scabs and over-scratching. Yes Flo, like you, we're very familiar with medicated baths and antihistamines! Will it recur? We didn't ask the vet that, but given her predisposition to skin issues, I'd say there's a chance.

I'm just glad we caught it early. In a way, being a crybaby was a good thing lol.

Well, aside from the ring around the tail and the discomfort, what a relief! It's hard to say which would be better, a whiny, cry-baby dog or a stoic dog who never says when something hurts til it's too late. (I guess, in a sense, I just answered my own dilemma.)

Hope the meds work and it doesn't come back!

BTW, JF had a bad reaction to being shaved too close for his neuter. The poor guy ended up looking nearly as bad as that horrible photo (and it was a weekend). Thankfully, an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic worked rapidly to clear it up.

Oh, thank goodness, it's nothing major! It must be a bug or some stray weed that she might have encountered. Puppy had something similar happen last summer, except that it was on his head and face. Thankfully it happened early in the evening, so we could take him to the vet's immediately.

But I can assure you that having medical degrees just makes it worse. All through the ride, we were imagining all sorts of worst-case scenario happening.

Yes, I still go to that vet. JF has sensitive skin and the razor burn wound up getting infected from his saliva. I was naive and let him sleep without his cone the first night. Anyway, lots of lessons learned. And JF will never get a sanitary cut for that reason. :)

Hmmm. I see Cold Tail isnt as obscure or rare as I had read. It's probably something we would never have to worry about here. I don't even know where the closest icy pond is...maybe a few thousand clicks away ;)

Georgia!! I'm so sorry I missed your midnight adventures. I haven't been allowed near the computer for days.

I have had some skin probs, and Master and Misery often wonder if it is caused by insect bites, mainly ants when I am lying at my gate. Or maybe mozzies, or buzzie bees. I will try and find the post where we wrote about my treatment and we can discuss our medical probs together :) On my annual review post, there is a pic of my sore at the top of my leg/hindquarters. Shaved like yours of course :)

Do take the best care of yourself and make sure you always cry and moan if you are feeling poorly.

Sorry, I meant to comment last night but got sidetracked, as I often do on the computer!! So pleased to read that GLP's problem isn't serious but it's a shame it will probably reoccur. At least you will know what it is next time and hopefully won't lose any sleep over it! I think it's good that she is a wooz and lets you know when she's not well. You'd hate for her to look like that photo before you realised anything was wrong, although I doubt it would take that long before you noticed something wasn't right. Hope she's back to the new GLP soon:)

All good Sue! I haven't been on the computer today myself. Still catching up on a day's worth of lost productivity haha. Unfortunately, Georgia had an allergic reaction to one of her meds and threw up all her brekkie today. So back to playing nursemaid ;). Have changed her antibiotic and testing that out tonight. Fingers crossed!

Pippa - thank you! Will check out the link hopefully tomorrow. I did read about your sores in ...was it the latest review post? You're one lucky puppy :) Good night, sleep tight from soggy Sydney x

Awwwwww, Georgia! Lookit that sweet little shaved ring on your tail. It's SO CUTE! Seeing as how my Mama has had a allergy rash for what seems like days and days and days, I wanted to give your Typist a tip on how to minister to your illness. We have a wise saying here at Casa de Kolchak, it's "Starve a fever, feed a rash." That means all you can eat snacks! Just tell her Koly said so.

I missed the previous post but went back to read it before my comment. It's so hard when something happens during the night or on a weekend...all the waiting, worrying, and then tying to search for what could be going on. Very happy that it was not serious and aside from a shave on the tail and some meds. / soothing bath recovery will smooth.

Wow - just catching up here - I'm so glad Ms. Pea is okay (and kind of glad I wasn't up at 4 in the morning to go through this with you - easier to read about when you know the outcome!)

Poor Little Pea. Bella had a similar "limp" tail last year - we were so worried it would never pop back up to its ever happy self but after a few days, she was back just right as rain. Here's hoping GLP is feeling better in no time.

I'm glad she's feeling better. phew! It is always a scary ordeal to look up symptoms on the internet and see what you find. I'm glad her condition seems to be under good care now. Kelly will wag for her until she can wag again!

About Me

I might be Very Opinionated, but I'm NOT a little dog.
Luckily for little dogs, I'm kept on a Somewhat Short Leash.
Some truly fascinating facts about me are in my very first post "Hello, will you be my friend?"

PitaPata Dog tickers

Jordan Puff Piglet ??.??.????-09.02.2009 Adopted 29.10.2000

I never met Mr Piglet. He was Mr Thumper's housemate and best friend. He was clever, handsome, funny, strong and gentle. Also [apparently] perfect and a saint. I only came to live here because Mr Thumper got really sad after Mr Piglet went away. I always get compared to Mr Piglet.

Rufus B Thumper 30.04.2000-29.04.2011 Adopted 13.01.2001

My benefactor. He chose me to bring home out of all the dogs he met at the pound. He was already old and grumpy when I met him. Maybe if he'd been younger, he might have been my best friend. Mr Thumper was as big as a bear and had a very long tongue. He was very popular with the ladies and most other humans too. He's with Mr Piglet now.

My Cushion.

My out-at-work human works hard to buy me nutritious food like lamb bones and lentils. He uses his Very Loud Voice only on my stay-at-home human which is why he's my favourite person in the world. He has a nice round soft tummy and is My Cushion of choice. *BREAKING NEWS* August 2012! My Cushion has left his job to be my full time Cushion! How lucky am I!

My Typist.

My stay-at-home human gets paid a lot of money to look after me. 100 dollars a week. She spends most of it on cream cakes and passionfruit tarts then wonders why she's getting fat. Strangely enough, she's also My Nutritionist.